aaamusic | On 15, Nov 2015

Who are you and where are you from?

I’m Sofi de la Torre. I’m a Spanish artist. I make music (pop done right). Right now I’m based in Berlin, after having lived in LA and London.

What inspired you to get into music?

I’ve always loved music but I started writing when I was 14 and our music teacher sent us to write a song as homework. I didn’t really play an instrument so I just wrote some lyrics and composed a melody in my head, sang it to him the day after and he was like “wait, you’re good. you need to learn how to play piano so you can write properly”. He sent me home with a keyboard, I practiced day in and day out, taught myself by ear. Wrote some terrible songs, then some that were less terrible and so on and so forth until I became good. Two years ago I met Jonas who is my producer and started writing on beats as opposed to just with piano or guitar. That changed my life. It made me a better and more innovative songwriter.

What have you done?

The music I’ve released this past year and a half has gotten quite a bit of blog love…things I’m pretty proud of include features on Billboard and TIME with my song ‘Vermillion’. It also made song of the year on The Singles Jukebox.

What are you like live?

Right now my set up is simple. Just me and a DJ. I feel like I’m only just getting started, I definitely intend to play live much more in 2016. Last year I went on tour with Olson a really cool hip hop artist…it was kind of my first proper tour…I’d headlined a small one in the past but only a few dates.

What makes you different?

The music I make is pop done right. Also, I do everything myself: aside from making my own music I take my own photos and direct / edit my videos.

Physical vs Downloading vs Streaming…How do you listen to music?

I generally use iTunes and Spotify. I think streaming is the future and I’m a big fan of it. Spotify is incredible. I know a lot of people diss it but to be fair, it’s only harmful if you’re signed to a major label and you don’t see any of the money the streams generate. As an independent artist, it’s the best. I’ve paid my rent so many times with streaming revenues.

What have you been listening to?

I’ve been listening to Jon Bellion a lot lately. I had the chance to catch a show of his in LA earlier this year and was mesmerised. Most exciting person in music right now, in my opinion.

What are your aspirations for the future?

I wanna start playing live a bunch and at some point release an album. I’m a fan of releasing EP’s every few months but I’m aware a longer body of work has to drop at some point!

Questions answered by: Sofi de la Torre…